Half-used avocados often end up being forgotten in the fridge, only to be thrown away once their colour and texture have changed
Fresh avocado(Image: Getty)
If you’ve ever sliced an avocado for lunch and left the other half for another day, you may have returned to find a noticeably different-looking piece of fruit. The exposed flesh can quickly lose its vibrant colour once it comes into contact with the air, making a simple storage problem surprisingly annoying.
One method suggested by cookbook author and founder of The Natural Nurturer, Taesha Butler, is to use cooking oil to cover the exposed surface before storing the avocado in the fridge. The idea is straightforward: the oil creates a layer between the flesh and air, potentially slowing the oxidation responsible for browning.
The method involves lightly rubbing oil over the exposed flesh, making sure the surface is covered before putting the avocado into a container and refrigerating it. It is said this can help the fruit stay fresh and green for several days, although other testing suggests oil is not always completely successful at preventing browning.
That distinction is worth remembering if you’re trying the trick at home. Serious Eats found that oil could help with browning in its testing, but other methods performed better, while EatingWell describes olive oil as a method that may only buy limited extra time.
There are other simple options if oil does not work for you. Pressing cling film directly against the cut surface can reduce air exposure, while lemon or lime juice is also commonly used to slow browning because of its acidity.
For the best results, any leftover avocado should be stored in the fridge rather than left sitting out. Keeping the cut surface covered as closely as possible is the main principle behind many of the commonly recommended storage methods.
So, if you have half an avocado left after making breakfast or lunch, you could try reaching for the cooking oil rather than immediately accepting that it will turn brown. It may not keep the flesh perfectly green indefinitely, but limiting its exposure to air can help slow the change and potentially reduce food waste.
